Utica, Illinois Tornado Outbreak

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The Utica Tornado of 2004 was a tornado that hit the town of Utica, Illinois in 2004. It was part of an outbreak of ten to fifteen tornadoes that formed in northern Illinois and Indiana, but the Utica tornado was the only tornado in that outbreak that caused fatalities.

On April 20, 2004, Utica, Illinois was hit badly by a tornado rated F3 on the Fujita scale, causing the death of 8 people. This tornado touched down around La Salle, Illinois (in La Salle County) around 6:09 p.m. (Central Daylight Time), and approached Utica 1 minute later. Sirens all around town signaled people to take cover. The tornado left shortly thereafter.

[edit] Damage and Casualties

The tornado destroyed over half of downtown Utica and over 100 homes. Eight people died instantly of accidental causes and six others were injured and trapped when the floor of a 100-year-old tavern, called Milestone, collapsed into the basement, where they had taken shelter. The collapse took place when a vehicle crashed into the tavern's main floor. Later the Village Clerk lost her unborn son. His death was listed as maternal stress due to the tornado and the work load afterward. He was added as the ninth victim.

[edit] Aftermath

The Utica tornado challenged previous perceptions about tornadoes in both the formative and mature stages. Among them were the following:

Tornadoes do not form in valleys. Because of the course of the Illinois River, the town of Utica is situated about 50 feet (15 meters) below the mean elevation of surrounding terrain. In a story written by the Chicago Tribune, residents related that they did not believe that a tornado would enter the Illinois River Valley. Indeed, the tornado had damaged Granville, a town 10 miles (5 km) to the west-southwest. It then crossed into the Illinois River Valley from the south, damaged Utica, and dissipated while exiting the valley to the north.

Atmospheric conditions required to form tornadoes on a small scale. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma had only issued a forecast for general thunderstorms at the time of the tornado. Neither large-scale models nor local soundings by the Chicago office could predict the ultimately small-scale event that caused 6 supercellular storms to spawn 14 tornadoes.

Tornado safety. Tornado warnings were issued 15 minutes in advance, after the tornado had passed Granville. All of the town's residents had made it to storm shelters by the time the tornado hit; however, no one could predict that the Milestone would collapse due to the force of the tornado. Thus, despite the long lead time residents had in advance of the tornado, casualties due to the tornado were very high.

As of April 2005, the village of North Utica is still working towards recovery. It has hired planning and engineering consultants (TENG Engineering) to help strategize its recovery and rebuilding. The Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association held a Pro Bono Charrette to aid in this process on September 25, 2004.

Apart from plans to redevelop its destroyed downtown, the village is also planning a memorial for the victims of the tornado at the site of the tragedy.

On April 5, 2005, Chicago Tribune reporter Julia Keller won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The series, published December 5 through December 7 of 2004, was entitled Wicked Wind and detailed how the tornado affected some of the residents of Utica. In addition, The Weather Channel premiered an episode of the program Storm Stories in 2004 about the Utica Tornado Outbreak.